Spin Edge
by Snow Duchess
Summary: An Imperial soldier's view of Celes' generalship, with an interesting take on her escape from South Figaro. PG for mildly violent images. Ratings are so difficult


Spin Edge

I've been asked before to sum up the Empire's goal in two words. I thought about that for a while. What was the Empire's goal? Emperor Gestahl claimed to want peace and balance in the world, but we knew that wasn't true. I guess he wanted to rule the world. For awhile, my answer to the question was world domination. But then I realized that wasn't enough. Yes, Gestahl wanted complete control of the world, but he wanted more than that. He wanted power, and not just politically. My answer evolved into absolute power. But that wasn't right, either. It wasn't specific enough. Gestahl wanted a technology we called Magitek to breed an army of super soldiers, men who could use the ancient power of magic. And this army would be what Gestahl would use to take over the world. So Magitek army, right? Still, that wasn't specific enough. Gestahl needed a way to maintain control once he had taken it, and his army was the key. He needed a military that was invincible so that no one could stand up to him. In other words, he needed to create the perfect soldier. So then I found the answer, the two words that accurately epitomized the goal of the Empire: Celes Chere.

Who is Celes Chere, you ask? I think a better question is who _isn't_ she? A top ranking general with the entire Imperial army under her command, a Magitek Knight with the power to wield magic, a Rune Knight with the ability to absorb energy from magic, an expert swordswoman and martial artist who has mastered every weapon imaginable, a cunning military strategist and intellectual diplomat… The list goes on. Highly intelligent, insightful, decisive, fearless, and incredibly strong and powerful. Some have even described her as majestic.

To top it all off, she was stunningly beautiful. She was elegant, captivating gorgeous, intoxicating and every other like word in the human language. She had a grace of figure that would put the Goddesses to shame, worn without the slightest hint of vanity, and an ever-so rare smile that could brighten the darkest of voids. With naught but a single glimpse of her, rivaling warlords would cease their violent bickering just to respect her presence.

That is, if she wasn't the second most powerful person in the world, next to the emperor himself. Yes, there were two other generals with equal _political_ power, but I'll get to them later.

These are just her 'noble' qualities, though. She's also cold, aloof, and distant. She's been said to be unfeeling; heartless, brutal, cruel, merciless. She's been called the bitch of the Empire, and has acquired 'the Ice Queen' as her title. She's attained the reputation of being completely and utterly ruthless on the battlefield and has mastered the art of physical and mental torture. Some men say she derives a satisfaction from men's suffering. Some have even sworn that she has _smirked_ when a man falls by her hand.

But this emotionless attitude is exactly what Gestahl wants. Celes Chere _is_ the prototype of the perfect soldier, if there is such a thing. Genetically engineered as an embryo to have the perfect biological structure, infused with Magitek as an infant, and augmented with Runitek as a child. Her training and schooling began when she was a very young child. She studied mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, history, diplomacy, public speaking, and military tactics.

She participated in strength training from an early age, and learned to fight with staffs, single and dual swords, claws, flails, spears, bows and arrows, nunchakus, whips, and projectiles, as well as martial arts. And this was just as a child. She was fast and agile, and exceptionally strong and skillful for her youthfulness.

Her training intensified over the years, incorporating the three ideals of the Empire into every second.

Emotions, pain, and mercy are all weaknesses

Everything you do is for the Empire

No one is innocent

These principles were incessantly drilled into her mind, molding her into the cold and unfeeling soldier, the flawless warrior, a 'true' Knight. Her duty was to the Empire. The emperor was her master and her god, the Imperials were her family, and Vector was her home.

As the years passed, she quickly rose through the ranks, becoming general by sixteen, unheard of in those days, especially for a woman (Women weren't allowed in the army. Celes and Terra Branford were the only exceptions). She commanded respect from her troops, and fear from her enemies.

Now, there had been nasty little rumors circulating about Celes and Leo, (and Celes and Kefka, for that matter), including _how_ she rose to generalship at such a young age. And her being female in an all male army has caused some speculation in that area.

But any person in their right mind who even remotely knows Celes knows these rumors are completely false. She may not be as compassionate as Leo, but she still has a strict code of honor. Besides, Celes Chere does _not_ allow _any_ man near her in that sense. Many have tried, though, some losing more than their pride in the perilously foolish attempt. I shudder at the thought.

Now for the two generals; Leo Cristophe and Kefka Palazzo. If there is a scale measuring character, then Leo and Kefka are polar opposites. Leo, like Celes, is also incredibly strong, wise, and determined. The difference between them is that Leo lives only by the sword. No magic or martial arts nonsense with this guy. If Celes is the perfect soldier, then Leo is the true Knight. He chose the honorable path, the way of the sword. Then again, Celes was never given that choice.

Leo also has a compassion that Celes doesn't. When faced with a sticky situation, Leo doesn't automatically reach for his blade. He first tries diplomacy, leaving violence as the last resort. I believe on some secret level, deep down, Celes admires Leo for his honorability. I think she looks up to him because she feels he has decent qualities she could 'never' have.

Kefka, on the other hand, is a man Celes absolutely despises. The man is insane. Celes may be ruthless, but Kefka is just downright cruel. Where Celes uses torture to get information, Kefka tortures for his own sadistic pleasure. It's a known fact that he enjoys watching others suffer, and whereas Leo tries to preserve life, Kefka seeks to destroy it.

So we have the two extremes of the scale; good vs. evil, life vs. death, honor vs. disgrace, compassion vs. bloodthirstiness. One would think the Empire would be unstable with such conflictions. This is where Celes came in.

Celes acted as the buffer between Leo and Kefka, creating a balance of powers. She had Leo's strength with Kefka's magic. She had a degree of Kefka's brutality, but not without Leo's sense of honor. She was diplomatic when she needed to be, but wasn't afraid to spill blood. She was cold, but not sadistic, efficient, but not excessive. She did what needed to be done, and left it at that.

I mentioned earlier that Celes was second only to the emperor. Each of the generals had equal status, and therefore equal political power; one did not outrank the other two. However, Celes did hold a certain undeclared power above Leo and Kefka, if only in the emperor's eyes. After all, Celes _is_ the emperor's little pet experiment, resulting in slight favoritism. One could not even fathom the pride he still has in 'his' handiwork.

Celes is also literally more powerful than her fellow generals. Leo is only a swordsman, and has been bested by Celes on numerous occasions. Kefka is decent with a sword, but his true power lies in his magic. Celes is a master of both, along with that remarkable Runic ability. She may even surpass Emperor Gestahl's skills, which is why I believe the emperor fears her.

Gestahl knew that as long as Celes was closely controlled, she would obey him. This accounts for the unusually grueling psychological conditioning she underwent. But Gestahl also knew and feared that if Celes were to defect, she would make a dangerous enemy, not only because of her power, but also because of her infinite knowledge of the Empire.

Anyway, enough about that. We used to believe the general would never betray the Empire. People have said she's grown soft over the past couple years, but I think she just matured from that zealous teenager she used to be. I consider myself fortunate to have had the privilege of serving under her. And I'm not the only one.

Most of us truly admired and respected the general. When we'd go into battle, she'd be right there fighting beside us, not on the sidelines like some spineless jellyfish. She wasn't afraid to die for her people. It was this fearlessness that gave us the courage to fight on. It was her air of invincibility that gave us confidence. Under her cunning leadership we felt protected, as if by the goddesses themselves.

I said before that she did what was needed to be done, and left it at that. There have been a couple instances, however, when things have gotten out of hand and escalated into a absolute massacre, when Celes appeared stoic giving the orders, but was left shaken afterwards from the unthinkable bloodshed.

The first was an assault on Tzen, when she was still sixteen and recently promoted to general. We were to dispose of a group of defected Imperials and punish Tzen for its disloyalty, killing any who opposed. The rebels were destroyed, and Tzen was decimated.

Then came the accusations; claims of fervent Imperial soldiers of having found more rebels amongst the civilians. Still inexperienced at having full command and not knowing what else to do, Celes gave the order to kill them. Almost a quarter of Tzen's population was wiped out; half were those who resisted, and the others were those wrongly accused.

I believe this incident was the catalyst of the general's downfall. She had been severely disillusioned by the bloodbath at Tzen, and has since sought more strict control over her men, swearing to never repeat the massacre. As I said, she didn't grow soft, she just matured.

The problem was, she still had to obey Gestahl's orders. And if he ordered death, by the gods, she would bring death, as she so aptly demonstrated in Maranda.

Maranda was harboring Returners, and was to be penalized. The city was torched and the mayor executed, though Celes had hesitated momentarily before slitting the man's throat. Maranda's punishment for housing five Returners for two years was the execution of ten civilians, on Celes' own order. She also personally executed the five Returners. There was no trial, no trip back to Vector for imprisonment, just simple slaughter.

To make things worse, as soon as she returned from Maranda, she was sent to invade South Figaro for collaborating with the Returners. With the mass execution at Maranda fresh on her mind and the Tzen massacre still haunting her conscience, South Figaro was the straw that broke the camel's back.

She led the assault, crippled the Figarian militia, and established occupation as per her orders. But when she received orders to poison the water supply, she snapped, killing twenty-two of the thirty men trying to suppress her. They arrested her on the charge of treason, sentencing her to death.

It's a pity, really. She was the Empire's finest officer, but she was cast aside the moment she showed a trace of compassion for humanity. That's the way I look at it; Celes didn't betray the Empire, _she_ was betrayed by _it_.

So what did I do?

I let the thief free her. Being the soldier assigned to guard her the night before her execution, I pretended to sleep when he came in. I was thrown in the brig for my 'carelessness,' of course, and now I'm about to be executed for allowing the traitor to escape. I don't really mind, though.

So why did I do it?

Maybe I wanted to get back at the Empire for all the evil it has done. Maybe because Celes deserves a better life than what she's had to endure. I'm not really sure.

I see the executioner approaching. I'm being mocked for not being able to guard one traitor. Guard… that's a laugh. The poor woman was chained the wall, beaten to within an inch of death. It's not like she was going anywhere. I think she would have even embraced death, the end of her life-long suffering.

I guess this just shows that no human is a rock, that the perfect soldier can't exist. My only wish is that Gestahl realizes this before he destroys the soul of yet another human being.

I pray Celes can find the strength to go on. I pray she finds a way to redeem her past mistakes and live a better life, one without fighting and bloodshed. The thought of her finally being able to be happy brings a smile to my face.

The sword is descending now, bringing death to still another who tried to do the right thing. I guess that's just the price one pays for living in a world at war. But dying so that Celes can live, I don't feel totally forsaken. So I leave you now with my final two words of what the Empire so fanatically seeks: the impossible.


End file.
